Hey you,

No, that’s not a Pink Floyd reference (or is it?). I’m saying hey you to the lyrics and melodies that have stood in as the soundtrack to my 21 years of life. To the music that’s blasting when I’m speeding on the interstate and feeling unstoppable, to the Pandora stations that play in the background ‘til 4 a.m. on the nights before a huge exam, to the tunes that get me through another work out at the gym, and to the music I listen to on my sappy and saddest of days:

Thank you.

Thank you for your inspiring words that I need to hear in the moments when I’m feeling down on myself. Thank you for reminding me that what I’m going through isn’t entirely unique; that there is a songwriter out there who can relate to everything I feel, and has turned it into a tune. Thank you for sometimes only serving the purpose of filling a sad silence, and for always letting me sing at the top of my lungs (not well, I might add) and never telling me to stop.

Thank you for connecting me to incredible people at parties and concerts, for making moments with people that much more special. Thank you for letting me associate my memories with your melodies, for taking me back in time when I hear that tune on the radio.

Thank you for sparking my creativity, for boosting my energy, for bringing out new sides of me. Thank you for evoking every emotion. Thank you for pulling me out of reality for a couple minutes but other times giving me a much needed reality check.

Thank you for waking me up in the morning and putting me back to sleep at night. Thank you for getting me through the countless car rides, the nights home alone, the day long cleaning sprees, the walks through campus, the anxiety, the sadness, the happiness, and the bliss.

Thank you for being one of very few things in life that is present and consistent every single day.

Forever indebted,

A faithful listener